Seriously, I mean it, look up. I do it all the time. It’s my mental reset button when I cant find any good compositions. It may seem simple but it works like a charm.

Sometimes as artists we get stuck in certain modes of thought. It’s sort of like writers block. All disciplines of art have an equivalent block (if you will). Like a painter that can’t paint or a dancer that has lost their rhythm, we as photographers get stuck not being able to compose a shot. It’s a simple matter of creativity spark (or lack there of).

A while back I was reading the sponsored athlete bio pages on lasportiva.com. (La Sportiva is a top name in Rock Climbing and they make some of the best gear in the biz). Anyway, there were a bunch of questions from La Sportiva, one being, “What do you do to mentally fortify yourself before climbing a difficult route?”

The answers were mostly about ‘meditating’ or ‘aligning with nature’ or ‘listening to loud tunes’; all pretty lame stuff. I was completely bored until I read one guy’s answer, “I like to punch myself in the face!” Now that’s an idea!

Think of my ‘look up’ method as a good mental punch in the face… Just with slightly less blood.

So while my ‘look up’ method seems to sometimes do the trick, some of you have no doubt thought up some far more creative solutions. Well, lets hear them!

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* All comments and feedback are welcome, but please do NOT post awards.